A Fishy Tale, The Sequel - Fanfiction for H2O Just Add Water

Chapter 93

Chapter 93

The following late afternoon, Arieta met them outside the resort reception.
"Bula," she greeted them.
"Bula," Jessie echoed. "Thank you so much for this, we're honoured, and excited."
Arieta smiled. "There will be many of us for the meal. Some of my family will be attending,"
Emma's eyes widened in realisation."The chief will be there? Are there any customs we should know about?"
"Oh, don't worry," Arieta reassured them. "He will receive the sevusevu, but my father will be attending as my father, not esteemed guest. Yes, you should treat him with respect, but I expect that you would regardless. Anyway, my family is aware that you are outsiders and therefore are ignorant of our culture and do not mean any offence." Arieta continued bluntly.
"We will try our best," Cleo said. Arieta chuckled.
"Don't look so worried! We are a friendly people. I'm sure you will fare fine,"

When they arrived at the village, the villagers initially focused on the children and the women they had not met the previous day. The children of the village were particularly interested in the visitors of their own ages. It was rare that tourists brought their own children with them. After an hour or so of socialising, the large group finally made it into Arieta's home.A long, beautiful mat was in the centre of the room, laden with assorted dishes. Rikki felt her stomach grumble. It smelt delicious. They all sat down cross-legged, and a prayer was said. Arieta described to them what each of the platters contained. There was taro (dalo) in coconut milk, and fried cassava – a starchy root vegetable, as well as two different fish dishes.
'Kids, even if you don't like this food, you need to be polite,' Emma addressed them via mindspeak, 'it is an honour to be here, okay?' She saw them all nod discretely.
Rikki had fed Fi before they arrived for the meal.
"Mummy," Alex tugged on Rikki's sleeve. She looked at her son.
"I don't like it," the six year old stated loudly. Arieta's mother looked a little disappointed.

Oh no.

Rikki half-smiled apologetically at the woman.
"I'm sorry," Rikki apologised. Arieta's mother replied with an expression that said 'children are children.'
Alex obviously had not paid any attention to Emma's message. He had barely touched his food.
"You haven't really tried it, Al, you can't judge something before you try it," Rikki said. Yes, the meal had been full of discussion and laughter, the sharing of stories and such, but food was important. 'Alex, I am warning you,' Rikki said silently. '
I don't like this white creamy stuff. It is gross,' Alex retorted.
'Eat it or we'll be having it when we get home as well,' Alex's eyes widened in horror. He gave his mother a quick glare before slowly shovelling the Fijian cuisine into his mouth. Rikki smirked internally. She had thought it might have been harder to get him going. Phew, crisis averted.

Arieta had been watching Rikki and Alex's mental conversation curiously. She had seen Rikki's serious stare, and a defiant one from the boy. But then, Alex's expression morphed into one of horror suddenly, and the stubborn boy started eating properly. She would have to ask Rikki about it later on.The flavours of the meal were foreign to them, but majority of the children, and all the women found they thoroughly enjoyed it. Cleo mused that the coconut milk and taro dish was very strange to her tongue, but was enjoyable nonetheless.
"Vinaka vaka levu," Jessie said. "Thank you very much for the meal."
"Vinaka na vaka yanga taka," Arieta smiled. "Thank you for eating my food,"

OoOoO

"How did you get Alex to eat?" Arieta asked Rikki softly as they began to leave the village. Fi was asleep in her mother's arms.
"He just knows what is best for him," Rikki replied.
"It looked like more than that,""How do you mean?"
"It was like you were having a conversation just by using your eyes,"
"A mother-son bond I guess," Rikki replied. Arieta nodded.
They walked in silence for a few moments, slightly in front of the rest of the group. Arieta opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself quickly.
"What?" Rikki asked. "I...I was just thinking about what your perspective might be on something...don't worry, it's completely random and silly,"
"Hey, what is it?" Rikki asked, intrigued. She had a feeling that it would probably be better not to ask, but her interest needing satisfying.
"Do you believe in magic?" Arieta asked, turning to her. The woman's eyes revealed to Rikki that this was a serious question. Rikki was not expecting it to be so loaded. "Do you believe in the impossible? In mythical creatures and beings, spirits, powers...stuff like that?" Arieta continued.
"Ah..." Rikki responded. "Do you?"
Arieta nodded. She once again was facing Rikki with a loaded gaze – there was definitely more to this than a simple question. Rikki started to feel a little uneasy. Before Rikki had to make a decision, Jay rushed up with Alex on his heels.
"Mummy, look at my rock!" Jay exclaimed gleefully. "I found it over there."
It wasn't a rock as such, it was a rock covered with dead coral growth giving it a fantastic shape and texture. It was the shape of a gun – probably why Jay was so fascinated with it.
"Wow, Jay," Rikki complimented it.
"No, Mum!" Alex interrupted. "I found it first! It's mine!" He snatched it out of his twin's hands.
"Alex! Give it back!" Jay exclaimed. "Mummy, he's lying!" he moaned.
"No, he is the liar!" Alex retorted. Before Rikki comprehended exactly what was happening, the two boys were pulling back and forward over the rock.
"Enough!" Rikki exclaimed. Fi stirred awake. The boys stopped and looked at her. "Give it to me." She demanded soft but firm, menacing.They held on stubbornly. Rikki was staring daggers at her sons. Anyone else would be cowering. Inwardly, Rikki was feeling embarrassed. Of course, her kids decided to have a meltdown in front of an acquaintance. Arieta was watching on in silence. By now, the others had caught up and were slowly passing the stopped Bennetts. Fi began to sniffle; she could feel her mother's anxiety.
'Do you want me to hold Fi?' Cleo asked Rikki.
'Please,' Rikki responded mentally. She passed her baby over.
"Jay," Rikki warned. "It's mine." He said obstinately, turning and resuming his walk.
"Liar!" Alex exclaimed.
"Who found it, boys?" Rikki asked.
"Me," they answered in unison.
"Did you see it at the same time?"The boys shared a look.
"I saw it first," the answered together, once again.
"If you can't decide who saw it first, neither of you can have it. Hand it over," Rikki said, she held her palm up, open. Neither boy said anything. Arieta watched on intrigued, as she walked slowly, looking over her shoulder.Rikki slowly closed her palm into a fist. The rock began to heat slowly.
"No!" Alex exclaimed, upset. "Not that! Don't do it!" Rikki raised her eyebrows. She knew this was the only way to sort things with these two. The boys released the rock as it became too hot to hold onto (The rock was actually steaming discretely at this point...due to their powers, the boys could hold onto something of that temperature for much longer than a regular person could). Rikki kept her hand in a fist, even after she had stopped using her powers on the rock, just to keep the illusion of the threat in motion.
"We leave it here, unless you boys can be civil about this,"The twins looked at each other.
"We saw it at the same time," Alex began cautiously, slowly. Jay nodded his agreement.
"And what does that mean?" Rikki asked.
"We will share it," Jay said, a hint of reluctance in his voice. Rikki smiled at them.
"Well done, boys," she picked the coveted gun-shaped rock up. "But you don't get to play with it until tomorrow."

OoOoO

When Rikki looked her way, Arieta turned away quickly. Had she seen what she thought she had seen? Were the myths really true?
"Bella," Arieta began, "Do you believe in magic?"
Bella whipped her head around. "Why?"
"Just a question," Arieta smiled. "Do you?"
"I..." Bella hesitated. "I do," she smiled. She focused her attention back on walking.
"Emma?" Arieta questioned.
"I'm definitely open to the possibility," she answered vaguely.
"Okay," Arieta said, smiling. A few minutes later, Arieta dropped another bomb into the peaceful night.

"What do you think about mermaids?

___________________________________

A/N: Hey everyone, I'm so so sorry that it has been forever since my last update! I apologise profusely! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please tell me what you think! Every comment helps me to grow as a writer and be encouraged to keep writing and updating for you.

Thanks so much to the following people for reviewing the previous chapter. I appreciate each of you enormously - you help me to persevere with my writing and make me smile.

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Thanks again! I'll see you all next time!